Canada removes U.S., Israel from torture watchlist

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to
pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove
the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries
where prisoners risk being tortured.

Both nations expressed unhappiness after it emerged they
had been listed in a document that formed part of a training
course manual on torture awareness given to Canadian diplomats.

Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the
embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual,
which also classified some U.S. interrogation techniques as
torture.

"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our
closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and
rewritten," Bernier said in a statement.

"The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of
policy. As such, it does not convey the government's views or
positions."

The document -- made available to Reuters and other media
outlets -- embarrassed the minority Conservative government,
which is a staunch ally of both the United States and Israel.

U.S. ambassador David Wilkins said the listing was absurd,
while the Israeli envoy said he wanted his country removed.

Asked why the two countries had been put on the list, a
spokesman for Bernier said: "The training manual purposely
raised public issues to stimulate discussion and debate in the
classroom."
Continued...